


Worth the Effort

by Jim the Viking (JamesMcMullen)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Based on a True Story, F/F, Fluff, it's just fluffy stuff, or rather how the true story should have ended, this is also kinda cathartic for me for reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29335902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamesMcMullen/pseuds/Jim%20the%20Viking
Summary: Hilda is coming back from visiting her brother, and bringing a new recruit to the Claude's army in Garreg Mach - the only problem is that he's uncooperative. Never one to lose, she comes up with a reward for the first person to get him to help, and Marianne will do just about anything to get it.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

“Lady von Edmund? A letter for you from Lady Goneril.”

Marianne looked up from the scripture she had been studying and took the folded sheaf of paper from the messenger perhaps a bit _too_ quickly for what was correspondence between friends. Still, she couldn’t help but think of their last meeting before Hilda left for Fódlan’s Locket. Her cheeks still warmed when she thought of Hilda’s hand on hers, making sure the spilled tea hadn’t burnt her.

The letter was almost exactly what she expected it to be. She could practically hear Hilda’s voice through the bright pink ink, and the deep red wax stamped with an ornate locket-and-axe seal, with a sprig of pale blue hydrangea underneath. What she _didn’t_ expect was the bright pink lipstick at the end, under Hilda’s flowing signature.

_Dear Marianne,_

_I know, I know, by the time you get this I’ll only be three or four days away, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve missed you! Things at the Locket are exactly like normal. Even with the war going on, my brother was his usual boring self, when he wasn’t telling us about how the Almyrans and the Empire are skirmishing and how Claude’s plans are genius and all that. Ugh! I mean, Claude’s a genius, yes, but now I HAVE to tell him that, and you know how he gets when people compliment him._

_How have YOU been though? Has there been any juicy gossip? Have Claude and the Professor FINALLY gotten caught? Are Mercedes and Dedue still being all gross and cute and couple-y? And what was this I heard about Petra and Ashe before I left??? You need to tell me all the gossip you hear! It’s almost like things being back to normal!_

_See you soon, cutie!_

_Hilda_

Marianne felt her cheeks flush and gathered her things before leaving the Golden Deer classroom. She passed a group of soldiers in the courtyard, offering them a small smile and nod as she rushed to the greenhouse. Her own letter would be decidedly more sedate in presentation. She had only plain black ink and no lipstick to reply in kind with, but she _did_ know that there was a spray of forget-me-not, and Hilda always enjoyed their pale blue flowers.

_Dear Hilda,_

_You know I don’t know much about what people do here. I’m not THAT much of a gossip, but I DID hear some of the stable hands talking about Ingrid and Sylvain and Felix, but that rumour has been going around for ages. I did see that Lorenz and Leonie, of all people, have been spending more time together though! I don’t know what that means, though. And Lysithea and Cyril are always together. When Caspar and Linhardt aren’t bothering her. Or, well, when Linhardt isn’t. Caspar follows him everywhere though._

_I’ve been well. Ignatz and Raphael have been accompanying me outside of the monastery on my walks. To make sure that I’m safe, they say, but I don’t really need it. I think Raphael just wants to talk with the birds, and Ignatz wants more inspiration for his paintings._

_It sounds like you’ve had a good time with your brother, though, even if you have to be nice to Claude when you get back. I’m looking forward to you being back. I missed you, too._

_Soon,_

_Marianne_

She threw sand over the still wet ink to help it dry, and folded the paper into a tight rectangle. She laid the forget-me-not onto the gap between edges and poured a small pool of molten wax onto it before she pressed her own signet – a simple profile of Seiros – onto it. Hopefully, the messenger wouldn’t find it strange that she had a reply so quickly. Or that, if he did, he wouldn’t make any mention of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Three days passed before she got another letter. This one was hastily scribbled and unsealed, with no lipmark below the signature, but was still in bright pink ink.

_Marianne,_

_I love the flower you sent me! That’s so nice of you to remember my favourite like that! We just got in, and you should get yourself to the stables. I have a surprise for you!_

_Hope you like it!_

_Hilda_

Marianne rushed toward the stable, following the sound of shouts and furious neighing. Whatever was happening was definitely not good, and the horse sounded angrier than any other animal she'd heard before. As she neared, she could hear a familiar voice rising over the din.

"Be _careful_ , you guys! He was a gift and I don't want to hurt him!"

Marianne rounded the corner to see Hilda and a half-dozen stable hands doing their best to restrain a bucking horse.

He was beautiful, even in his anger. A sleek, glossy bay, just barely larger than a pony, but powerfully built. His eyes shone with intelligence, and he did his best to keep his hooves away from the straining young men.

"Come _on_ , guys!" Hilda shouted from the other side of the courtyard. "It's going to rain soon! How hard can this be?"

The stable hands hauled on the leather straps over the horse's withers, trying vainly to keep it from rearing. The horse reared again, its snort of indignation echoing around the courtyard as the straps were pulled from the men's hands. The exhausted men bent double, gasping for breath as the horse shook its head and dislodged the bridle in its mouth.

Marianne edged her way around the courtyard, and Hilda beamed at her as she neared. " Marianne! Isn't he _beautiful_?"

She nodded and frowned. "He is, but he doesn't like the bridle. I don't think he's ever had to wear one."

"Ugh, I _know_ ," Hilda replied, rolling her eyes. "My brother sent him as a gift. Apparently, he’s from an Almyran chief who wanted to make nice with the garrison at Fódlan's Locket. I guess they don't use bridles or whatever up there."

Marianne nodded. "I've never seen a horse like him before, but everyone uses bridles. He might just not have used one before and doesn't like how it feels."

Hilda beamed. "Oooh, that's a _good point_ , Marianne! But if he doesn't get used to it, what use is he?"

Marianne bristled and shook her head. "He doesn't need to have a use, you know. He's such a beautiful horse and it's nice to just look at him."

Hilda smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Of _course_ you'd say that! But the chief said that he was from a long line of horses they use for raiding and if we can't ride him, how are we going to let him do what he was born to do?"

Marianne pursed her lips and looked at the horse, now standing placidly in the courtyard, though keeping a wary eye on the stable hands.

"You know…" she began.

"Come on!" Hilda shouted. "You guys can do it! Try again!"

The stable hands groaned. "He's too high spirited, commander," one of them said between gasps. "We can't keep him still long enough to do it."

"Oh that's quitter talk!" Hilda said. "I'll give whoever manages to get him to take a bridle a kiss! How about that?"

The stable hands shook their heads and grumbled as they threw the straps over the horse's withers again. As one of them approached the horse, a peal of thunder rung through the air as rain began to stream down. The horse reared again and pulled the straps from the men's hands before walking serenely into the stable.

Hilda sighed and pulled Marianne under the stable awning, out of the rain. "This is ridiculous," she said, watching the rain begin to pour down. "I bet my brother sent him to us because no-one in the Locket could get him to put on a bridle either. Do Almyrans even use bridles?"

Marianne shook her head. "I don't know, but I do know animals. Maybe I could try to help? I mean, if the stable hands don't have any other ideas, that is."

Hilda squealed with glee. "I was hoping you'd say something like that! But maybe not right now, with the rainstorm, though. Did you want to get some tea instead?"

Marianne nodded and shivered as a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. "That would be good," she said with a smile. "But maybe you can pour for us this time?"

Hilda laughed as she took Marianne by the arm. “Whatever you say!”


	3. Chapter 3

Marianne quietly crept through the monastery, hiking the skirts of her dress up to keep them from dragging and alerting anyone. Not that there was any reason to be concerned, she wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just stealing a horse. And really, it was more like she was asking him to go for a walk with her.

She neared the stable and sidled against the wall, slowly making her way to the corner of the building. She stuck her head out, checking past the hedges toward the knight's hall and then down past the stable to the monastery entrance.

All clear.

She slipped around the corner and gingerly lifted the locking beam on the stable door. Inside, the horses were laying asleep, soft snorts of contentment coming from the stalls. Or most of them. In the far stall, the Almyran horse looked out placidly. She locked eyes with it and smiled.

He snorted indifferently.

The soles of her boots clicked softly on the stone floor and were joined by the clatter of hooves as she led the horse out of the stable.

"Very good," she said gently. "I know you don't like the bridle they used but is there a different type you would prefer?"

The horse snorted and shook its head.

"Oh, I see," Marianne said softly as she stroked his muzzle. "Well, I understand. It's difficult to do what other people tell you when they only see you as a beast. But you're not, are you? You're very smart."

The horse whickered and nodded, nuzzling against her shoulder.

"Well, that's good," she said, running a hand along its mane. "Now, I'm going to try something, okay? And I promise I won't hurt you."

The horse eyed her suspiciously as she reached into her bag and pulled a collection of leather straps out. It stepped back as the moonlight reflected off the bridle's brass fittings.

"No no," Marianne said quickly. "I promise, this isn't like the one this morning. See?" She held the bridle up to the horse. "No bit to hurt your mouth, okay?"

The horse snorted, but stayed still as she slipped the hackamore over his muzzle. She whispered soothing sounds to him as she tightened the loops around his head and slung the reins over his withers.

"You're a very good boy," she whispered as she came back around to face him. "Now I'm going to go put a saddle on you and we'll see how you like this, okay?"

The horse raised its head and bumped her chin with his nose. Marianne stifled a laugh. "I think that means okay, right?"

* * *

Marianne led the horse to a small brook an hour’s walk away from town, and stopped. He looked at her quizzically.

“That’s right,” she said gently. “I’m going to get on now, okay? Don’t be scared.”

The horse tensed as she lifted herself into the saddle, and shifted uncomfortably beneath her. “Easy,” Marianne said, stroking his mane. “I won’t-“

Her words were cut off by an undignified yelp as the horse reared and threw her to the ground. It circled around and snorted, looking at her with something like contempt.

“Now listen,” Marianne said as she got to her feet. “Hilda brought you all the way here from Almyra and it would be really nice of you to help us.”

The horse snorted again and turned away. Marianne put her foot into the stirrup and grabbed a hold of the saddle horn as the horse began to walk forward. “Stop that!” she shouted. “At least let me get on the saddle!”

The horse began to pick up speed and Marianne clung desperately to the saddle as she tried to swing her left leg over the horse. “Stop it!” she shouted “I’m going to fall!”

The horse seemed to understand and angled toward a tussock. Marianne let out a groan as she landed on the thick grass and the horse circled around to her. It whickered, almost mockingly, as she got to her feet. “You’re not going to win this one, you know,” she said, brushing leaves from her skirt and wincing at the bruises she knew would be forming on her body. “Now be nice.”

The horse looked at her and snorted.

“You understood that, did you?” Marianne asked him.

He snorted again.

“Well then you know I won’t give up, then.”

He tossed his head, shaking his mane to one side and stood patiently before Marianne.

“Okay, let’s try this again,” she said as she lifted herself onto the saddle once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Garreg Mach was buzzing with activity when Marianne rode in through the main gate. She was bruised, exhausted, and covered in mud, but she and the horse both held themselves tall as they passed the gate guards.

One of the men flagged her over and motioned for her to dismount. She eased herself down and led the horse into the shade before going to the guardsman. He leaned close as she neared and motioned to the main hall.

"You had better be careful, Lady von Edmund. Lady Goneril has been tearing the monastery apart looking for-"

"Marianne!" Hilda's voice cut through the din as she ran towards Marianne and the guard. She pulled Marianne into a crushing embrace. "Where were you? What do you think you were doing, running off like that? Don't you know it's dangerous? There are Imperial soldiers and bandits everywhere!"

Marianne pushed back and smiled. "I was fine, Hilda," she said. "I was just taking our new horse for a ride."

Hilda stared at her, mouth open in shock.

Marianne smiled brightly. "He didn't like the bit on our bridles. I did some research and the horses in Almyra use bitless bridles, so I made one and he likes it! See?" She gestured to the horse, who stood calmly a few paces distant.

"Why would you do something so crazy?"

"Well," Marianne said shyly, her cheeks flushing. "You said you'd give whoever manages to get him to calm down and take a bridle a kiss..."

Hilda blushed and looked away. "Well, I wasn’t…I didn't think you would-"

“Oh,” Marianne said, the warmth in her cheeks turning to the burn of embarrassment. "You said you were happy I offered, though," her voice faltered as she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. "I thought you-"

Hilda's mouth was suddenly on hers, tears tracing cool paths down her cheeks. After a moment, they parted, and Hilda smiled. "Was that what you were hoping for?"

Marianne nodded, stunned by the kiss. "I...yes," she stammered.

"Good," Hilda replied, "And I'll give you another one if you promise not to do anything that silly again, okay?"

"I promise," said Marianne as she pulled Hilda close again.


End file.
